


Sonny Goes to Dentist

by FreckledSkittles



Series: Barisi Is Married and Happy Because I Said So [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Fluff and Humor, I will make this a tag, M/M, Married Barisi, Married Couple, doctor visit, husbands supporting husbands, pls appreciate my teenage mutant ninja turtles reference, rafael still loves him, sonny is on pain meds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 21:17:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20298079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSkittles/pseuds/FreckledSkittles
Summary: Sonny has to go to the dentist. Rafael picks him up and participates in an interesting conversation.Alternate title is Lawyer Husbands Who Love Each Other.





	Sonny Goes to Dentist

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in a bit of a writing bind where I want to write three things at once when I typically write one fic at a time and the one I want to write (a slow burn Barisi farm au featuring dogs and tomato symbolism) is currently taking a back seat for these other Very Important Ideas. This was one of them
> 
> I literally got the idea for this because the thought of Sonny asking Rafael if he's a ninja turtle is so funny to me. And like the other fics in this series, they're married because why not who can stop me not the show cowards I mean writers
> 
> CAUTION WARNING for some explicit case talk at the very beginning; it only lasts for a few lines of dialogue and then ends, so if it makes you queasy, you can skip to when Rafael and Liv are alone

Rafael lets out a sigh when the detectives finish their spiel. Only one of the three cases they had was strong; the others would need some cooperation from victims and a little more digging before he can go to court.

“The Tellison case is more than doable,” he states. He tosses a pretzel in his mouth and lets them three detectives stew before he answers. “The other two are near impossible.”

Liv looks bothered but accepting of his decision, but Rollins protests immediately. “We have proof that puts Marcus at the park where Wyatt and Phoebe were attacked. He sent a text in that area before he assaulted them.”

“It’s circumstantial. Washington Square Park is almost ten acres and one of the most popular tourist attractions in Manhattan. Find something that puts him there and makes him the attacker.”

“We’ll go back over it,” Liv assures him. Rollins, clearly dissatisfied, rolls her eyes but says nothing else. “And we’ll go over Crangston and see if we missed anything.”

Rafael smirks. “Thank you, Captain. Always happy to remind you what your jobs are.”

Liv shakes her head at the taunt; Rollins scoffs and turns on her heels. “I can’t tell if you’re being as pissy as you usually are, or if your husband being away from you for more than one minute is that upsetting for you.”

“To be fair,” Rafael hums, “I’m not as heartbroken at the separation. Sonny does it for both of us.” He tilts his head, knowing full well he’s getting right under her skin and pressing all the right buttons. “Does that answer your question, Detective?”

Amanda rolls her eyes and leaves his office to take a call. Liv, amused by the exchange, looks back at the ADA. “How is Sonny doing? Is he out of surgery?”

“Not yet.” Rafael checks his watch for the time. “He has another thirty minutes. They should be done with the filling and working on the wisdom tooth now. And please, whatever you do, don’t call it that when you see him. He doesn’t need another panic attack.”

Liv frowns. “Is it that bad?”

“He just hates the dentist. His family has bad luck with it.” The week before, Sonny had gone to the dentist for a cleaning. When he told them about pain on the right side of his mouth, the dentist discovered that he had a chipped molar and a loose wisdom tooth, a direct result of grinding during his sleep. It was definitely from stress, seeing as Sonny had been promoted to senior detective and Rafael was planned to replace the retiring EADA in the upcoming fall.

“Give him our best. If he needs an extra day off, remind him he has enough time saved for it.”

“I’ll let him know.” He pauses and adds, “Later, preferably. He’ll be loopy for a bit.”

Liv laughs quietly. “How exciting for you. I hope you’ll be home with him and not sitting here.”

Rafael rolls his eyes and stands. “He wants me home, and Carmen is barring me from the office when I go to pick him up.”

“Good.” Carmen comments the same as Liv walks out, and Rafael smiles. He’ll have a large coffee tomorrow and bigger bonus at the next quarter just for Carmen. For now, he organizes the papers accumulated on his desk to bide some time.

* * *

Rafael arrives at the dentist thirty minutes later; as requested, the receptionist called him to let him know when the procedure was finished. He drives over there with some traffic slowing him down, but he hopes Sonny is still sleeping. He had made as close to a promise as he could to be the first thing he sees when he wakes up. Sure enough, after he parks the car and is led to the back of the office when he reaches the fourth floor, Sonny is just waking up when he pops in. The left side of his mouth is swollen, partly from the cotton ball helping the wound clot. Rafael steps closer to his husband, whose drowsy eyes and dazed expression only lighten up when he recognizes him. Sonny breaks into a bubble of giggles and a shining grin.

“Hi,” he mumbles, his voice slightly garbled from the cotton ball and morphine in him.

“Hi,” Rafael smiles back. He reaches over to hold his cheek, and Sonny hums and grabs his wrist. “How are you?”

“I’m woozy.” Sonny leans over with a long groan and throws his head on his shoulder. “And you’re Raf-ee-yell.”

“I am. I’m also your husband.”

“Nooooo.” Rafael bites back a snort as Sonny tries to sit up but droops further down in his chair. “Thas’mposs’ble.”

“Not that impossible. Here,” Rafael reaches over to take his hand and point out the wedding band on his left finger, “there’s proof.”

Sonny lets out a long gasp and brings both their hands to his face. His nose brushes against his knuckles with how critically he’s studying his hand. “Whoooaaa. Thas crazy.” He breaks back down into giggles, his eyes shining with amusement and his grin reflecting the feeling just as strong. Even under medication, he is incredibly beautiful.

With a hand around his waist (and a teasing “oooh, smooth talker” whispered in his ear), Rafael walks him out of the room and, with a brief stop at reception for some post-operation items and a mouth guard to use for sleep, down to the elevator. Sonny is fascinated with the movement of the elevator and stares at the buttons like they’ve answered his every whim and desire. He’s like a child, more so than he typically is—actually, scratch that, he’s more like a newborn giraffe than he ever has been.

“I wanna sit in the front with you,” Sonny urges softly when they get to the car.

“You will,” Rafael assures him. He pats his back and opens the door for him, guiding his head in so he doesn’t knock it on the roof. “I’ll be right next to you.”

“Can I hold your hand?”

Deep breath in, deep breath out. He smiles fondly at his husband. “Only if you behave. Buckle up.” He shuts the door and quickly walks to the driver side. When he gets in, Sonny has buckled his seatbelt and is prodding at the left side of his mouth with distracted fingers. “What did I just say, Sonny?”

Sonny whips towards him, hand leaving his mouth, and he forms such a pretty pout Rafael’s chest aches. “I thought I was allowed!”

“No, love, not yet. You need it to help the wound here.”

“I got hurt?” Sonny’s eyes widen, a starry-eyed innocence glinting in his eyes. “When did I get hurt? Who did it?”

Rafael debates telling him the truth for a brief moment, but he decides against it. Better to keep the more complicated conversations for later, when he can talk to a husband who isn’t pumped full of sedatives. “I think Amanda might have had something to do with it.” He can take criticism from his husband’s work wife later.

There’s silence as Rafael turns the ignition and drives out of the parking garage. Sonny huffs and crosses his arms with a hard pout—again, with the pouty lips—and a glare at the dashboard. “I knew it.”

Sonny passes out for exactly five minutes, leaning his head against the window, and Rafael smiles at him. He’s proud of his husband for going through the procedure on his own. He would have been there for the entire thing if he didn’t have court, and it’s only through luck that it was adjourned from the defense attorney’s sudden illness in court. Not to mention that the squad was on standby in case Rafael couldn’t make it to the dentist to pick up his husband, and that would provide much more blackmail for Rollins and Fin.

When they stop at a red light, Sonny stirs and clutches the left side of his face with a moan. “M’face,” he moans.

“I know,  _ cariño _ , just a little longer.” Rafael pats his knee softly. “Do you want breakfast for dinner?”

He thinks Sonny might have fallen asleep again, but with one look, he sees the look of concentration on his husband’s face. “If it’s breakfast for dinner, then…it’s just breakfast.” He looks up at Rafael but his eyes are unfocused and half-lidded. “Right?”

“Can’t argue with that.” The light turns green, and he drives on. Silence fills the car for two more blocks. When they pass the bakery run by the old woman who gives them free loaves on Fridays, Sonny taps his shoulder.

“Hus-bin?”

“That’s me.”

“Are you–” Sonny licks his lips and fidgets in place. His legs stretch out in front of him to fill out as much space as the car allows. “Are you related to a ninja turtle?”

Rafael just about stops himself from flooring the gas pedal. It sounds like nothing more than the delusion of a man under heavy pain medication, but playing along would make things go easier. “Am I what?”

“A ninja turtle. Yer name is Raphael.” He starts laughing again, this time lower in his throat. “And yer sassy.” Sonny waves his hand at Rafael and swats the air between them.

Rafael shakes his head and focuses on parking the car. “I don’t think so, Sonny.”

“Maaan. We coulda have pizza for life.”

“I think even you could get tired of goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.” Rafael cuts the ignition and gets out quickly. Sonny opened his door but hasn’t moved, the seatbelt still around his chest. He can feel the gray hairs sprouting atop his head. “Sonny. You have to unbuckle yourself first.”

Sonny looks up at him with confused eyes. “I lost my hands.”

“They’re right here.” Rafael, leaning over him to unbuckle him, gently takes his hands in his once again and brings them up to his face. “See? Not lost.”

He lets out a long sigh and smiles. “Oh thank god.”

“Can you use your legs?”

“Uh, duh. Watch this.” Sonny hops up and simultaneously bonks his head on the roof of the car and smacks his hand on the window. Rafael steadies him and shushes the bubbles of concern spewing from his husband’s mouth. He kisses the top of his head before he ushers him forward, guiding him with a hand on his back. As quickly as Sonny reacted to the movement, he’s cooing at the hand helping him walk and giggling with each step. Rafael gets him inside and hopes the medicine wears off soon.

* * *

Sonny gets settled in comfy clothes—which is a bigger adventure than it needs to be—and keeps an ice pack to his cheek before he falls asleep on the couch. Rafael, out of work clothes and restraining himself from working, knows he’ll be hungry, since he hadn’t eaten before his appointment, and prepares a generous serving of pudding. Sonny had made a surplus of banana pudding last night to prepare for today, and it can only make up for his visit to the dentist.

An ice pack dropping behind him and a hand on Rafael’s back brings him out of his train of thought, and a thin pair of arms wrap around him from behind. Sonny kisses his shoulder and grunts in lieu of a greeting. Rafael smiles and leans back to kiss him before he resumes spooning the pudding into a bowl. “Welcome back,” he says gently. “How do you feel?”

“Groggy,” Sonny mumbles. He moves away with a peck to the back of his head and grabs a water bottle from the fridge. “Little stiff.”

“Any pain?”

Sonny only nods, pulls out an orange bottle from the bag on the counter, and throws back two pills. “I’ll be fine. Gonna miss straws for a few days.”

“We’ll have to cancel our plans for the straw convention.”

Sonny chuckles, replacing his ice pack for a new one from the freezer. “I know you were really looking forward to that.”

Rafael shrugs and hands him the bowl with the larger portion. “I’ll be fine. I have a nice date.”

“What’s his name?”

“Can’t remember. I was staring at his smile the entire time.” Sonny grins at the compliment and chuckles, proving his point, and Rafael presses a hand against his right cheek. “There it is. He was here the whole time.”

“Surprise.” Sonny pecks his cheek, and Rafael leads them to the couch. They settle with a thin throw over their legs and curve into each other; they thumb through their Netflix list for a movie, but Rafael can see the tension layered under his husband’s face. Thankfully, he’s seated on Sonny’s right, so he can rest his head on his shoulder.

“I haven’t touched my work since I left the office.”

“Oh yeah?”

Rafael hums quietly and nods. “And I don’t plan to. I know today was hard for you, and I want to help you relax as much as I can.”

Sonny smiles, not as bright as before, but he thanks him with a kiss. “I appreciate you so much. D’you know that?”

“You tell me every other day.”

“I mean it.” Sonny rotates a bit to face him with a more serious expression. “I’ve been a mess since I found out about my teeth, and you’ve dealt with it so well. You deserve a medal for handling my anxious ass.”

“You deserve the absolute best. Your anxiety and your fears are valid, and you don’t have to apologize for anything.”

Not a day goes by where either of them is not thankful for running into each other. Rafael’s heart gets a bit warmer every time Sonny hugs him, and Sonny’s whirring mind slows down with a single gaze from Rafael. No matter what they face alone, whatever struggles may come his way, the other will be there to help him along.

They have breakfast for dinner. Rafael learns about mutant turtles who are trained ninjas and pokes soft fun at Sonny’s confusion. Sonny responds with a biting kiss at his jaw and a sleepy nuzzle into his neck. They sleep under a blanket of support and married bliss.


End file.
